


Night Before the Dawn

by IceJazzElleth



Category: DCU (Comics), Doctor Fate (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Justice Society of America (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blackest Night, Character Death, Children of Characters, F/M, Feels, Gen, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:34:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24967531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceJazzElleth/pseuds/IceJazzElleth
Summary: Just as Hal seems to be able to settle down, the universe comes under threat from a dark force. With the death of Kent Nelson, the Green Lanterns must team up with Inza Nelson (Doctor Fate) to try and stop Nekron’s forces, despite impossible odds.AU Timeline, following the events from ‘The Fate of Fear’ but can be read as a stand-alone story and is inspired by the Blackest Night storyline. Story will obviously contain some character death and much zombies. Set across the universe over the course of a few days, this story is a bit of a hard slog for our heroes, there won't be any easy victories.
Relationships: Carol Ferris/Hal Jordan, Inza Nelson/Kent Nelson, Soranik Natu/Kyle Rayner
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

Hal smiled at little Martin as the baby bounced in his little seat. His son was so easy to please and it never ceased to amaze Hal. The little bundle of joy was well worth the sleepless nights. It was a wonder that he had been able to settle down with Carol and have a child after all the years of their on/off relationship. His inability to commit as some might call it. Or as he considered it, his love of thrill and adrenaline. As it was, even if he was on leave from Ferris Air for child care, he could still get the thrill hit from his work as Green Lantern.

Hal settling down was not something that he had ever imagined. Nor had most of the Corps. 

A shudder passed through Hal. Like someone had walked over his grave, or so the saying went. The Green Lantern pushed it aside. Martin gurgled and grabbed towards the spoon that Hal held in his hand. It was feeding time which was always a challenge but Hal relished it.

“Here comes the plane.” Hal smiled, moving the spoon closer to his burbling son.

Bright light engulfed the room.

Hal was in his costume in an instant, the action requiring next to no thought after all these years of serving as a Green Lantern. A glowing green construct encircled him and Martin. The light faded, turning the surroundings from glowing, bright light back to the dining room. Nothing was harmed. As his eyes adapted back, blinking away the last of the glow that temporarily blinded him and had set Martin crying, Hal saw a familiar face.

The blue and gold clad figure stood on unsteady feet. The cloth was torn and burnt, the edges glowing faintly as weak magic tried to stitch it back together, flickering nearly lifeless. Red hair was dishevelled and fell loosely past Inza’s open face. With Nabu back in the helm, she had given up the helmet, choosing to enchant amulets to allow her to access her full power. Two amulets were golden bracelets and the third was an Egyptian Collar. With no secret identity, she felt no need for the helmet and so didn’t take the half helm that Kent had. In her hands was Anit, her six-year-old daughter, golden light protecting the child who nestled her head into Inza’s neck.

The golden amulets Inza wore on her neck and wrists shone like molten gold and with a start, Hal realised the flesh around them were burnt.

“Take Anit!” Inza gasped and Hal rushed forward, scooping the child into his arms. The protective spell around Anit dropped and Inza gasped, closing her glowing gold eyes as she sunk to the floor.

“Inza, what happened?” Hal tried not to shout as he held Anit who trembled in his arms. Inza shook her head, limbs shaking and she muttered incantations. Hal placed Anit behind himself and approached Doctor Fate.

Inza Nelson, and her husband Kent, were linked with the Justice Society where they served as Doctor Fate but Hal knew them best from his time as Parallax. In his bid to rewrite the universe, he had inadvertently ended up stuck as a child (long story) and the Nelsons had raised him. It had taken eight years of his life before he could become himself again and they were now close friends, if not family.

As he approached her, Hal realised that the amulets were not only shining like molten metal but were. They flowed sluggishly across her skin with the faint hiss of burning flesh accompanied by a smell that made his recent lunch squirm.

“Some…. Darkness. I… Kent… I didn’t…. have enough power.” She said through gritted teeth. The amulets glowed stronger. “I accessed too much magic. It’s melted the amulets. Got to… not stop healing… but that requires magic” Her eyes opened slowly. The gold glow was fading somewhat leaving only white hot pain in her eyes as she looked up at Hal.

“I’ll get Soranik. She’s a doctor.” He said, crouching down and placing a hand on her shoulder, sending off the request through the ring. “It’ll be fine.”

“Kent…” Inza moaned, head falling down as if it were too heavy to hold up. Hal was aware of Martin continuing to cry and he fired a messageoff to Carol to get here.

“What happened to him, Inza?” He asked, messaging complete

She shook her head, eyes watering and refusing to meet his eyes.

Hal glanced up as Carol entered, quickly changing out of her Star Sapphire outfit.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know. Inza turned up. Her amulets… they’re melted onto her or something.”

Carol went over to pick up Martin, cradling him.

“Anit, can you tell us what happened?” Carol asked. Inza was breathing through gritted teeth, completely focused on the magic keeping her amulets from searing her flesh.

“I… I don’t… I don’t know. I was playing in the Tower when there was a loud bang. Then there was more. The Tower shook. Then Ma grabbed me. We left the Tower and…. And Ma then crushed it. Then we were here.” Anit said, looking up at them with wide blue eyes. “Da was inside.”

Hal frowned and glanced at Carol’s equally puzzled face. There were no clear answers to what had happened.

Carol handed Martin over to Hal and sat down by Inza.

“I can seal you in a Star Sapphire crystal.” She offered hesitantly. “It might help?”

“I need to keep… the healing.” Inza said, tendons showing on hands, clenched in fists.

“Sora’s ten minutes away.” Hal supplied.

“Doctor Mid-Nite?” Inza asked.

“He’ll probably be longer if we can get hold of him. Could you teleport? Like how you got here?” Hal asked.

“I could fly and get him?” Carol suggested.

“Please.” Inza gasped. Carol gave a nod, transformed and then left.

“Ring, can you help stabilise Inza?” He asked. He didn’t know what to do for his friend. Hal could rush into a battle which many would say was unwinnable and turn the tides. A plane some would call lost, with Control shouting for him to eject, and he would land it safely. There was always a way to fix things for Hal Jordan. He did not like being helpless and would not accept it.

There wasn’t much the ring could do other than to create energy shields around the amulets to minimise the spread of damage so he did that while cradling Martin and speaking calming words to his son and Inza.

Anit came over and placed her tiny and dainty hands on Inza’s leg, muttering some soft words. The ring translated her spell and Hal felt odd hearing the invocation that the six-year-old made. Inza sighed softly, glancing up at her daughter.

“Anit, save your energy. Uncle Hal’s friend will be here soon.” She breathed. Anit paused and then slowly removed her hand. Inza’s eyes closed.

“I’m back.” Carol came in, Dr. Mid-Nite on her toes. He went over to Inza and inspected the amulets. His brow furrowed as he carefully examined an amulet on Inza’s arm.

“Magic?” He asked and she gave a nod.

“Just get them off.”

Probably easier said than done.

“GL, can you create a construct of water? Something cooling?” Dr Mid-Nite asked, looking at Hal

Hal did as such and Dr. Mid-Nite guided one of Inza’s arm’s into the bucket.

The metal still appeared to be molten.

A brief discussion and Hal sent a call off to Alan in the hope that his ring’s more magical side might be able to cool the magic. He also sent off a call to Zatanna as well.

In quick succession, Soranik, Alan and Zatanna arrived.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” Soranik said, raising one of Inza’s arms with her constructions as she investigated the metal’s join to the skin.

Alan was on Inza’s arm, the green flames of his light flickering over the metal. Zatanna was muttering backwards spells and concentrating on the amulet on Inza’s chest.

“It’s magic.” Hal said. “I don’t think you ever see anything like it. I’m always surprised.”

Dr Mid-Nite had offered Inza something for the pain but she said she needed to keep full concentration on the spell. It was the only thing keeping the liquid metal from completely eating away at her flesh.

“I think I’ve managed to start cooling it.” Alan said suddenly. The construct had shifted to a funnel, pulling the raw magic out and dissipating it. The liquid gold was becoming more sluggish. Soranik’s constructs shifted, still supporting Inza’s arm but the microscope focused in on where the metal cooled.

“It’s fused into her skin.” Sora said.

“Yeah. I think I know that.” Inza said through gritted teeth.

“It’s amazing it hasn’t melted through to the bone.”

“Scans show no infra-red energy.” Dr Mid-Nite supplied. Soranik’s constructs shifted so she could detect infra-red.

“Fascinating.” She breathed.

“I. Am. Not. An Experiment. Now get it off!” Inza growled at them, green eyes shifting across the faces of the two doctors.

“There.” Zatanna said with satisfaction as she finally found the right incantation to cool the amulet. She went on to the arm Soranik had been working on and within a few seconds that had also cooled. Alan’s ring meanwhile had finished cooling the last amulet.

Inza let out a deep sigh of relief.

“I’ve got something for the pain.” Dr Mid-Nite said, pulling out a needle. Inza eyed it with longing.

“Hal, the orbs. We need to sound the alarm.” She said.

“The orbs… Wait? What? Parallax?” Hal asked. Inza shook her head.

“No. Another entity.”

“What happened?” Zatanna asked.

“The entity of death has arisen.” Inza intonned, eyes looking somewhere none of them could see. “Those who have died are at his behest. We face the end of days, the _darkest night_.” She closed her eyes and fell back against the wall.

“They took Kent.”

“Kent’s possessed by the entity of death?” Hal asked.

“It’s his Corps. Like the Green Lanterns for Ion. The Star Sapphire powered by the Predator. The Black Lanterns serve Nekron. They have rings. They seek out those who have died and bring them to life.”

“But Kent’s not dead!”

Inza gave Hal a look.

“Black Lanterns came, they attacked us. They… Kent tried to protect me. And they killed him. But then one of those horrid rings went to his finger. I tried to fight them. But nothing would stop them. I used everything I could. But… Anit… I had to save Anit. So I teleported to her and did the only thing I could think of that might stop them. I destroyed the Tower of Fate.”

There was a pause.

“This is not good.” Alan said, breaking the silence.

“I’m calling the Green Lanterns. There’s got to be a way we can deal with this.” Hal said.

“I’ll alert the League.” Zatanna added.

“I’ll contact the Sentinels of Magic and the JSA.” Alan supplied.

Inza just stared balefully at them.

“I collapsed the Tower of Fate on him.” She said. “Kent… but he wasn’t Kent… I couldn’t stop him. He had the helmet. Hal, he’s got the helmet.”


	2. Silence Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with the aftermath of Inza's sudden arrival.

Inza was asleep. She had started to ramble more and more until they weren’t sure what was true, what was prophecy and what was just arcane languages. They were on the Watch Tower. Soranik and Dr Mid-Nite were working with Raven, Zatanna and Constantine to remove the amulets from her. Apparently having that much raw magic fused into your flesh was not healthy.

Which was politely paraphrasing what Constantine had said.

But the Tower of Fate was really gone. Zatanna and Constantine had felt it. Inza had collapsed it to seal in Black Lantern Doctor Fate and the Black Lanterns that had arrived in the Tower.

So far, there were no other Black Lanterns that they had heard of. Yet. It didn’t feel like this was a false alarm. It felt very much that they were biding their time.

Hal looked out the window of the Watch Tower.

“Do you think this is the darkest night?” Kyle appeared in the reflection. Hal turned to look at him.

“Inza’s never heard me say the oath before.”

Hal supposed that she could have heard the oath from somewhere else. But the words hung in the air like someone was whispering them. Leaves rustling on the wind. Magic, Hal supposed. It trembled. Not that he was like Kent or Inza. But having spent 8 years raised by them in the Tower, he couldn’t deny that he felt some level of awareness of it. He had come to realise that shudder he had felt was the moment Inza had collapsed the Tower with Kent in it.

“There’s a brightest day in there as well. We haven’t had that.” Kyle pointed out.

“Inza spoke of this as if it were the end.”

Hal continued to stare out the window, brow furrowed in thought. He didn’t accept impossible situations. Neither did Inza.

There were two options, the way Hal saw it. Either she fully believed that this was the end of days, the darkest night or it was a prophecy. If he had to pick one, he voted on prophecy. Based on his friendship with Inza, they stood a better chance if it were prophecy.

“She’ll be awake in a few hours. Sora gave me an update on the surgery. They’ve got most of one amulet off now. So they know what to do with the others. Constantine recons that she’ll be supped up on whatever has fused into her blood stream though. Hence the rambling, arcane languages and prophesising. He apparently quickly pointed out that it wouldn’t do much good against a zombie Doctor Fate. As well as quite a few words that the ring would not translate.”

Hal gave a small chuckle. That Brit was not known for his clean mouth. It was good to find some humour.

“I was talking to Jason Blood.” Hal added. Various magic users had clocked in to see if anyone knew what had happened to the Tower of Fate. “He knows of Nekron. It’s not good news. Ruler of the Land of the Unliving. Pretty much a demon. But also with the emotional entity stuff.”

“Inza once mentioned something about that to me.” Kyle said. “I spent some time as Ion after… after everything. She turned up one day to talk to me about it. Said that magic that the Emotional Spectrum weren’t as different as they seemed. She said if I intended to continue my partnership with Ion, she felt like she should explain it all to me. But I gave up Ion not long after. Her talk made me feel not ready for it. Wearing the ring… bonding with Ion up to then… It felt like Corps stuff. Straight forward. That I could manage.” Kyle twiddled the ring, around his finger.

“But the whole magic thing seems to always come at a cost. It felt like a burden the way I’ve heard Kent speak of it. I didn’t feel ready. I now wonder if I regret that decision.”

Hal didn’t speak for a while. He and Kyle stood in comfortable silence, watching the silent planet beneath them.

“When I was Parallax, I think I may have tapped into magic. I didn’t realise it. But I was able to copy a lot of what Inza had done. And I was drawing on the Tower of Fate at the end. When I tried to ‘fix things.’ I hadn’t thought about how I was able to draw upon a magical tower.”

“So does this make us magic users?” Kyle asked wryly.

“I’ve asked myself the same question.” Alan came up behind them. “Let’s take some seats, boys. It’s going to be a while.”

“Any word on Kent?” Hal asked, following Alan to some chairs.

“No. The Tower’s sealed itself off after its destruction. No one can get in.”

“And hopefully no one can get out.” Constantine, Raven and Zatanna appeared. Zatanna waved to them and left but Constantine and Raven came over to where the Lanterns sat.

“Inza?” Hal asked.

“We’ve done what we can, mate. It’s up to the doctors now to remove the metal.”

Constantine took out a cigarette and lit it.

“I don’t think you should be lighting that in a space tower.” Alan said.

“Oi, its been a long few hours.” Constantine grumbled, taking a puff. Raven moved to sit on the ground, crossing her legs and closing her eyed in meditation.

“She’ll need to be at that for a few hours. She was absorbing the pain and hurt Inza was feeling. It’ll accelerate her healing.” Constantine explained, collapsing on a seat.

“Thank you. To you both.” Alan said. Constantine gave a nod and offered them all cigarettes. No one took him up.

“Come on, it could be the end of the world. Might as well loosen up. Nekron’s no laughing matter. Nor is a zombie Doctor Fate. I reckon that Tower trick Inza managed to pull off won’t hold him more than a couple of days. If we’re lucky. You’ll thank me for the ciggie at the end of it.”

“I don’t think any of us smoke.” Alan said pointedly. Constantine shrugged and pocketed the packet.

“Suit yourselves.”

“So… how do we stop him?” Kyle asked, sitting pointedly away from the smoke that Constantine was breathing out. The warlock looked up.

“Magic, mate. We’ll handle it. Don’t need to worry that pretty little light of yours.”

“This is also Lantern business. Inza said he was starting a Black Lantern Corps. That he’s one of the emotional entities.” Hal pointed out.

“And what are you gonna do? Shine that light really brightly?” Constantine asked.

“We’ve dealt with entities like this before. I’ve hosted one.” Kyle said.

“We’ve fought one.” Hal said softly.

“Aye, that fear bug you got stuck in you, right?” Constantine said, leaning back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling as he breathed out.

“Constantine.” Alan chided sternly. The man glanced at him and shrugged, tossing the cigarette onto the floor and stamping the stump out.

“I’m going to talk to Jason. Don’t let the light brigade get themselves killed. That would not be a good idea with the current situation.”

They watched the receding figure and the Green Lanterns were left alone with the meditating Raven.

“We’re not just going to sit by, right?” Kyle said. It was more a statement than a question.

“None of us are. It won’t be the first time that teams have worked separately on the same problem. Multiple angles can’t hurt.” Alan said, elbows on his legs as he rested his head on his hands.

“So, do you have any idea how we can defeat him?”

“Not as yet, Kyle. But evil things cannot stand the bright light of Green Lantern. Light is the opposite of black.”

“So we shine a really big light?” Hal suggested. It didn’t seem much of a plan.

Their discussions continued as they waited for Inza to recover. A few hours later, Soranik and Dr Mid-Nite came out. Raven came out of her meditative trance at some point and expressed interest in learning more about the emotional entities. As an empath, she was curious about this aspect and their ties to the light spectrum. She maintained a respectful distance, only later explaining that the emotions of the Green Lanterns’ will was so bright that it was near searing. They discussed the nature of her powers and whether they might be useful and she eventually left to inform the Teen Titans of the situation.

“She died once.” Alan commented as the smoke from her teleportation disappeared.

“Didn’t Inza?” Hal asked suddenly.

“Her old body did, before Eric and Linda became Doctor Fate. But Nabu stored their souls in the Amulet of Anubis. They didn’t pass on. Then Nabu created entirely new bodies for them.” Alan explained. It was strange to think of how many heroes had died and come back.

“Not that it matters to the Black Lanterns. They can just kill us anyway.” Kyle pointed out.

“Cheerful.” Soranik muttered.

She was trying to sleep but had elected to stay with the rest of them until her patient was awake again. She was slumped in a chair, eyes closed and hands resting on her stomach. Kyle sat nearby. Hal moved back to staring out the window. Alan joined him. It was strange to see that he was clearly older than Alan, who like the Nelsons, had avoided aging. When Hal had returned to adulthood after his time as a child, he’d taken the age he would have been. He wanted to be able to settle down with Carol. Magic users made him feel old.

“I don’t think I ever thought I’d get this far.” Hal said, looking out at the earth. “I had always thought I’d die in some battle on a far-off world. And I was fine with it. I didn’t mind. But now… I have Martin. I don’t want to loose all of this.”

“None of us thought we’d get this far.” Alan said, following Hal’s gaze. “But we did.”

“Do you think we’ll ever get too old for this?”

“It’s a question I ask myself often, Hal. As does Jay and Ted. Sometimes we all wonder if a nice bit of retirement wouldn’t go amiss. But I don’t think any of us could sit still long enough to enjoy it.”

“No.” Hal smiled. Despite being the stay at home parent, he spent a good majority of his time still patrolling Space Sector 2814 and keeping law and order.

“Sometimes I envied Kent. We all stayed young and healthy but our friends and family did not. My wife… she too has aged. Kent though, he had Inza. Despite him being a founder member of the JSA, you always got the sense that he would have been content with just Inza for companionship. And they would never outgrow each other.” Alan said, sorrow tinting his voice.

Hal closed his eyes. He’d been ignoring the fact that Kent was gone. The man had been a father figure and a friend. He didn’t have time to be dealing with grief when they were about to face their darkest night. He didn’t want to think about what Inza was going through. Heck, Hal didn’t know if he’d even been born by the time they had been married.

“We’ll stop this. He won’t have died in vain.” Hal said firmly.

“I know.” Alan murmured softly. “Where’s Anit and Martin?”

“Carol’s got them. Kal offered them a room in the Watch Tower. We figured this was the best place to keep them. Until we’ve stopped Nekron.”

“If the Black Lanterns have the powers of their hosts, there won’t be a safe place.” The voice was in their heads and Hal blinked, eyes focusing on the form of Inza that appeared in the reflection.

“Astral projection. I’ve not done it much so reflections help. I’m still out but started lucid dreaming so thought I’d put it to good use.” Inza explained with a shrug. “If the Black Lantern Doctor Fate has his powers, he’ll be able to open a portal to the Watch Tower.”

“We’ve not seen any sign of him yet.”

“The Tower will keep him busy. He’s buried beneath infinite magical and physical rubble.” She said, hand twiddling the golden ring on her finger.

“Inza, I’m so sorry.” Hal said, hand reaching out to the reflection. It was cold.

“Hey, it’s fine. I can always try resurrect him again.” She said, giving him a weak smile. It fell though and she stared down at her ring. “Only his soul will have passed on by this point. I don’t think I have the power to bring someone back from that far on. And he wouldn’t approve.”

They stood in silent companionship, simply being in the moment the only comfort that they could offer each other until Inza faded away as her sleep once more deepened.

Meanwhile, in the Helmet of Fate, Kent and Nabu sat cross legged, sitting over a game of senet, steaming cups of salep giving off an ephemeral cinnamon scent.

“You got possessed by one of Nekron’s rings, Nelson. I thought I trained you better than this.” Nabu commented. He cut an impressive figure in his Egyptian garb, a vizier to Prince Khufu. His skin was like burnished bronze and his white hair had a silvery shine. The aura of the Lord of Order flickered like flame in the light that shone down on them. In the helmet, Nabu had constructed a scene of his time in Ancient Egypt. The desert sun beat down on them but neither seemed to mind.

Kent sat opposite him as Doctor Fate, sans the helmet. He took a sip of salep and sighed. He’d conjured it up to be just as Inza made it. Even Nabu had to admit that she was a decent drinks-smith.

“I think you trained me to accept possession from a young age, Nabu.” He pointed out. The Lord of Order raised an eyebrow and moved a piece on the board.

“My influence. That of a Lord of Order. Not an entity that is near demon and near chaos.”

“I did resist. I’m here, am I not?” Kent pointed out. Nabu conceded the point.

“Not that you will be able to achieve much from here. We are sealed off from your body by that ring.” He pointed out.

“We just need to wait. Inza will sort this out.” Kent had faith in his wife. She had not failed yet and in many ways, he felt she was the better Doctor Fate. While she was a spitfire and would fight anyone and everyone, her primary goal was always to heal and bring together. To create. She’d be able to deal with this just fine.

“She imploded the Tower of Fate on you.” Nabu pointed out.

They glanced over at the scrying pool that sat beside the game. Kent’s possessed zombie body had still not worked it’s way out of the Tower but they could watch the shifting energy that worked against him. The Tower was still slowly imploding. Drawn by another energy.

“Perhaps not the best of options but there weren’t many available.” Kent pointed out. He moved his piece on the board and Nabu leaned forward to study the move.

“You know the Lords of Order will not take action.” He said, taking his move. Kent glanced at the game, considering his next go.

“The absence of life is complete Order. But the living dead isn’t exactly under Order’s realm.” He moved his counter.

Nabu moved his.

“And as such Chaos won’t get involved.”

“We could have done with more power on our side.” Kent sighed.

“We just have to be grateful that neither have chosen a side.”

“I thought you were on the side of Order, Nabu.” Kent teased light, taking his turn.

“I am on the side of Order and Life, Nelson.” Nabu didn’t take teasing well. “And I believe I have won.” He moved his piece and Kent inspected the board. Nabu sat back and sipped at his salep.

“Looks like you’re right.” Kent agreed, waving his hand over the board. It shifted into a chess set. “Shall I explain the rules to you?”


	3. Shadows of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot gets underway as the dead arise.

Inza had been awake exactly three hours and forty-two minutes when the report came in. The dead Martian Manhunter had appeared. Other dead heroes were rising. It was chaos and death on the streets. She could feel it like a pressure headache. She cursed wearing the helmet when Nabu was in it. It had only been a couple of years before she made the amulets but now she got these little notifications of Chaos. What was worse was that as an area fell completely under the sway of the Black Lanterns it was left with a sense of Order.

The attacks were swift and spreading quickly.

“I’m coming.” Inza said, arms crossed as she looked at Hal, Alan, Kyle, Carol and the sleep deprived Soranik.

“Inza, you don’t have your amulets or the helmet.” Hal pointed out. “And someone needs to look after the kids.”

“Not to mention you got out of surgery only four hours ago.” Yawned Sora. She’d had about five hours of trying to nap and Inza suspected that she’d been too much on alert to get much shut eye.

“I’m fine. I used my magic to completely heal myself. See.” She held up her arms. The burns were gone.

“You still don’t have your amulets. You’re better served staying here.” Kyle pointed out.

“I’m the only one here who has dealt with a Black Lantern.” She pointed out.

“We’re Lanterns.” Sora countered. “We’ve dealt with other Lantern colours before.”

“It’ll be no problem, Inza. Sit this one out.” Alan said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She glared at him.

“I’m not going to sit idly by! They killed Kent and I intend to stop them.”

She had to look up to stare at each and every one of them in the eye. It didn’t make her glare any less intimidating. Hal sighed.

“Go on ahead. I’ll talk with Inza.” He told them. There was a pause with glances exchanged, then nods of agreement as they left. Hal turned to Inza who was about to open her mouth.

“Inza. Listen.” He said, putting his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to face him. She looked ready to continue her tirade but he shot her a look. She closed her mouth and crossed her arms, glancing away from him with a stubborn frown on her face.

“I know you want to avenge Kent. That you want to do anything to be useful. To get it off your mind. We all do. But you have to be part of a team. And sometimes that means trusting your teammates to do the work while you hold down the fort. And we need someone to do that. If we fail, who’s going to protect Anit and Martin? We’re trusting you to do this. You’re our last line of defence, Inza. If we die, you have to be strong enough to keep them safe.” He put a hand on her shoulder.

Green eyes shifted hesitantly to his face and a cold knife twisted in Hal’s gut as he realised that the emotions that shone out of her face were that of a twenty-year-old. There were kids in the Teen Titans that young. Mentally he cursed, running a hand through his hair as he reconsidered his tone.

“Can you do that for me?” He asked, softening his voice as he looked down at her. She gave a nod and Hal gave her a quick embrace. She had been a mother to him for eight years. It hurt to see her pain.

“Don’t let Nekron win, Hal.” She said as they broke the hug.

“I never lose.” Hal gave her a grin and put a hand on her shoulder. She smiled.

And then he was gone.

Inza walked over to the next room where Anit was playing with some toys Clark had brought in before heading off to face the Black Lanterns. Baby Martin was watching from his seat where he was occupied with some crayons.

“What’s happening, Ma?” Asked Anit, looking up from her game.

“It’s going to be fine. Uncle Hal and Alan have this.” She said, taking a seat by the window. She always knew that Hal would end up with a greater maturity than her. It didn’t make it any easier to face. She’d much rather be down on earth, fighting against Nekron’s army. There would be other heroes who had had to leave their children in this fight.

But there was truth in Hal’s words. Trusting your team. Inza had never been a team player. She had worked with Kent but that was more of as a couple. She had worked with Wonder Woman on occasion. An alliance. She and Mary had sometimes fought together but they never attempted teamwork. Just happened to be on the same side in a battle. The JSA had made her a member but it was more she’d be called upon when they had a big bad that they needed to be dealt with. Having Anit had reduced her time to practice teamwork.

There had been Batman’s attempts to teach her to work in a team. While Hal was a child and she was being watched. That hadn’t gone down well either.

Inza closed her eyes. She could hear the voices crying out in fear. It was a pounding in her ears that reached a steady crescendo. Hope was fading as the Black Lantern forces seemed to be undefeatable. She didn’t feel like eating but at least preparing some food to Anit and Martin would provide some distraction. Keeping a communicator on her, Inza lifted the baby, carrying him carefully as she lead the way through the silent Watch Tower to the kitchen and started to make sandwiches and hot chocolate. They were seriously lacking in ingredients. Martin got a blended sandwich and some plain hot milk. Anit enjoyed her hot chocolate and devoured her sandwiches. Inza sipped on her drink. It didn’t sit well in her gut.

Carol and Hal hit a Black Lantern at the same time. It was a coincidence. A twist of Fate. But the joint attack shattered the Black Ring. Inza gave a sigh of relief.

A small spark of hope.

A few hours later and it became apparent that this was not enough to change the tides. More cities were falling. More heroes. Looking after Anit and Martin, Inza couldn’t allow herself to shed any tears. She just watched as best she could, spreading whatever help she could give. Probability manipulation was a curious thing. There were many aspects. Increasing the probability of a sunny day was low level magic and humans could access this, even if they had little magical inclination. One of the Universities Inza had lectured at had a significant proportion of the lecturers accidentally increasing the probability of good weather on the open day of the university. Several people increasing the chance of good weather incrementally built up until the students joked that the University had a weather machine. However, bigger events, bigger probabilities, they all required more mystical energy to cast.

So increasing the probability of victory by any significant amount would destroy her. And not do a thing. She’d be dead before she could finish the spell. But little things like avoiding a fatal blast was easier. She could get that up to 30% increase in a good situation. As the Black Lantern forces grew, it took more and more magic though. She couldn’t be everywhere and so focused her magics on the Lanterns.

“Ma.” Anit’s voice trembled behind her. Inza blinked and turned.

She swore. In the doorway was a Black Lantern. Once of her least favourite Justice Leaguers. Batman.

Inza clenched her fists, pulling magic towards her and gathering it in radiant golden light. Anit was closest to Batman. Martin was next to her, unaware of the mortal peril.

“Anit, come here.” She said slowly. The Black Lantern was watching her. Waiting. Anit shifted slowly and the Black Lantern moved. Twice as much as Anit did. Anit froze and Batman froze. Inza shifted her hand and the Black Lantern pointed his ring at her daughter.

“I really hate Batman.” Inza growled, staring at the Black Lantern. She let her awareness flow out further. In the darkness were other Black Lanterns. She could sense a couple outside the Tower. They were surrounded. So what were the Lanterns waiting for?

It was a trap.

Inza grabbed Martin and teleported to Anit as the hand clamped on her from behind. Martian Mahunter. He could go through walls. Intangibility. Martin started crying and Inza grabbed Anit, pulling her in close as she teleported them in a blink of an eye.

The smell of death and burning hit her nostrils. She could feel the intangible hand of Martian Manhunter slipping through her and towards her heart. Pulling together what magic she could, Inza shifted her core to magical flame. The pressure relieved and then green and purple light shot past her.

“Inza, what are you doing here?” It was Hal.

“They’ve got the Watch Tower. Needed to get out.” Inza gasped. She could still feel the echo of that hand in her.

“What do we do now?” Carol asked, looking at Hal. Inza was aware vaguely that John Stewart had set up a construct barracks. Kyle was helping, filling in details as they were destroyed. Guy was firing off shots.

“Get Carol over here!” He shouted and she flew off to his side. Hal’s face looked tormented as she left.

“Only a green Lantern and a Lantern of a different colour can defeat them.” He explained.

“I know. I saw” Inza said, getting to her feet, Martin still clutched in her arms.

“We’re not winning.” Hal had gone back to his post, doing his best to keep the hoards from overwhelming them while Carol flitted around to where she was needed. Inza could see Alan and Soranik likewise maintain positions, calling Carol when the forces got too close.

“We should get out of the city.” Inza said.

“We can’t abandon these people.” Hal growled.

“It’s lost There’s only us left.”

“You don’t know that.”

Inza didn’t say anything. Instead she walked towards the centre point and spread her magic out to encompass them all. She took a slow breath in and then out. They were now on a mountainous plane.

“What…?” John turned to see Inza and realisation came over his face.

“We could have saved them! Take us back!” Kyle demanded.

“No.” Inza said. “It was lost. It was only a matter of time before we joined them. We need time to regroup. I’m not going to let us all die in vain trying to protect one city. Not when we can save the world.” Not until she had brought Kent’s body peace and got her vengeance.

“You can’t just take us from a battlefield.” Guy shouted.

“I think I can.” Inza said, giving Guy a cold look. She had proved that she could. Besides, they could fly back in seconds. None of them did. They knew she was right. Turning, Inza looked out across the plain and towards the mountains. She scanned the landscape. She hadn’t been too far off with the spell.

“There’s caves over there. Early humans used them. I had the privilege of visiting once. With Kent. We can hide from the Watch Tower in there.” She suggested. “Get a plan.”

Carol took Martin and they flew over, coming out of the sun’s glare and into the caves.

“This is eerie.” Kyle said, looking at the handprints.

“Try not to disturb anything. It’s been well excavated but I’d rather not risk destroying something that future generations might be able to detect.”

Inza hadn’t been Fate when she had visited this place. Now she could sense the mystical energies that had pulled people here. It was like a tide and she wondered if this was how Kent had felt when they visited. There were so many layers of magic. It was like the currents in the ocean. Falling deeper and deeper from the warm and light blue of the upper layer into the dark underneath.

“Inza!” She blinked, Hal was infront of her. Everyone was staring.

“What?” She glanced between them.

“Kyle asked if you knew where other pockets were.”

She blinked again, clearly not in focus.

“The cities of heroes are the first to fall,” Her voice had taken on that intoning flow that Kent’s had when possessed by Nabu and her pupils had narrowed. Hal groaned, pulling his hands through his hair. He could use a straight answer.

“Darkness shall come and overwhelm them all. Worlds will succumb to endless night and Nekron’s deep, black might.”

Alan guided Inza into a sitting position as she continuing to speak in rhymes, switching into another language. Her pupils had narrowed to next to nothing, staring at what could not be seen.

“Can we contact a magic user? Maybe they’ll be able to help her?” Kyle asked.

“It’s creepy if you ask me.” Guy muttered. Her eyes were glowing faintly in the dimness of the cave.

“I remember Kent took me through a few books on things like this.” Hal said, crouching down besides Inza. “Magic users often set up mental shields that help keep outside influences from getting hold of them. Like how we can keep out telepaths with the ring. Kent took me through a few. Some were for weak magic users but others were dilutions of ones that he used on himself. I realise now it was to try and help me avoid Parallax’s possession.”

“So you think you can set up something for her?” Alan asked.

“It’s a personal thing. Kent I think had some general all purpose ones that he had cast on us all. But these were more specific.”

“So how’s that gonna help us?” Guy asked.

He couldn’t tell if Inza was listening but he tried to talk her through as best he could. He was certain she would know these. Probably already had shield up. After he’d gone through two techniques, Alan said he’d try and set up a barrier to repel magical signals.

Hal was on the fifth technique when she gave a sigh and stopped muttering. Her eyes came into focus, resting on his face.

“Inza, you’ve got this?”

There was a pause and she gave a nod, concentration still on her face.

“Do you know what’s causing this?”

Inza shook her head then glanced down.

“Well, maybe. The amulets, some of the metal merged into me They were cast with the power of Fate. I imagine that there would be some level of prophecy in that. Not to mention my own magics. I draw on life. The pride of a job well done, the glimpse of your true love as they step down from a train… all of that is a form of magic. This is an attack to it. It’s no wonder the magic might be volatile.”

“Inza, we need you to keep your head in the game. If you can’t do this…” He looked at the cave entrance. Nowhere on the planet was safe. The ring buzzed. Reports of the dead rising on multiple planets.

Requests of help.

“There’s no not being able to do this.” Inza finished softly.

* * *

Kent sighed, watching the scrying bowl while Nabu studied the chess board.

“I think I like this game.” He commented, finally making his move.

Kent swirled the tincture. This was one that Nabu had summoned. Bitter herbs mixed with honey and alcohol. It was an interesting taste. Nabu had suggested that Kent might need its calming properties.

“Where’s Inza now?” Kent asked. She’d been in the Watch Tower. He’d watched his body receive the command to go there but by the time he’d arrived, she’d gone. The Black Lantern Kent had spent a while in the Tower attempting to track where the magic had taken her.

“She is in Argentina.” Nabu answered, studying the board, planning his moves and attempting to predict Kent’s.

Games with Nabu certainly took a lot of focus. The Lord of Order did well at games. He learnt the rules quickly. Kent relished the challenge.

“Alone?”

“No. She is with Alan and the other Green Lanterns. And one from Korugar.”

“Korugar?”

“It’s an alien planet.”

“I forget you are a cosmic entity.” Kent commented, making his move. Nabu took his piece and Kent stared at the board.

“The worst is yet to come, Nelson.” Nabu said. Kent leaned back from the board and looked into Nabu’s jet eyes.

“That’s not exactly reassuring.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.”

“So… let me ask the elephant in the room. Are we going to win?”

Nabu looked at the scrying bowl. He waved a hand over it and brought up the image of Inza. She was sitting with Anit nestled against her. Alan and Hal conversed nearby. Kyle and Sora were dozing against the wall. Hal was cradling Martin as the boy struggled to fall asleep.

“The path we have gone down leads to a single fork. It began when Parallax and Inza met. In another time Parallax would have used Extant to separate you both from the helm. I would have a different host by now. Jordan would have died, taken on the mantle of Spectre and then returned to his Corps. There were many paths that could be tread that would lead to a thousand more. As it is, the world we have now, the paths converge to two points. Your wife will be pivotal, Kent.”

The scene shifted back to his body. He was flying now.

“Inza won’t let us down.” Kent promised.

**Author's Note:**

> So, prologue done and dusted, the story is set and ready to go into motion. 
> 
> This story isn't going to be too light, being a Blackest Night AU so just a heads up. There's going to be much drama and I'm not a combat writer so as opposed to the comics, I'll have more time to look into the emotional reactions (I hope!).
> 
> Updates might be slow as I've got university work going on and deadlines approaching but I'll try and get updates out every couple of days. 
> 
> All that's left to be said is I hope you enjoy this story as it unfolds!


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